1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of water contaminant and treatment measurements.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Analyzing contaminants in a water supply can often take significant time to complete, and furthermore is often difficult to carry out. Present techniques and apparatus generally require much time to obtain measurements or readings of water supply contaminants. Water utilities are confronted with the task of maintaining contaminants at reduced levels, while, at the same time, controlling the levels of treatment compounds to maintain a safe concentration for consumption by users or ultimate discharge of the water into the ecosystem. Often strict government regulations must be met so as to have a minimum acceptable level of contaminants and maximum acceptable levels of treatment chemicals. Coliform bacteria and other contaminants must be carefully monitored and treated. In addition to the treatment compounds themselves added to water, byproducts are often formed from the reaction of these compounds with the contaminants. Therefore, it is not possible to simply add a given amount of treatment chemical to a water supply, rather, the water must be monitored before, as well as after, and even during the treatment process.
Thus the need for accurate, timely analysis of contaminants, treatment chemicals and byproducts in a water system remains important to the ability to provide adequate treatment and management of a water supply.
Dissolved organic matter is an important component in a water system that must be carefully monitored and controlled due to its relationship with the contaminants. The greater the presence of dissolved organic matter in a water system the greater the potential for water contaminants, such as, for example, bacteria and other organisms to proliferate and further contribute to the degree of contamination of a water supply. The effect is more pronounced over time if bacteria and other organisms are allowed to build up. Therefore, measurement of biodegradable organic matter in a water system provides information which can be used to determine the extent and success of disinfectant or treatment to be administered to a water supply.
Biodegradable organic carbon has been measured by a number of different assays as a way of determining the concentrations of biodegradable dissolved organic matter present in the aqueous system. The assays, however, are known to take substantial time. Reliability and rapidness of measurement are desired when monitoring the concentrations of biodegradable organic contaminants at a water utility during the purification or disinfecting treatment process.